


Climbing back on that horse

by Automartyr (Brynnen)



Category: The A-Team (TV), The A-Team - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath, Character Study, Episode: s05e06 The Say UNCLE Affair, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 19:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8634259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brynnen/pseuds/Automartyr
Summary: In the wake of rescuing Stockwell from Trigorin Murdock realises something about the man and about Hannibal.





	

Stockwell felt himself reel with sheer exhaustion and a panoply of sensations and emotions he ruthlessly shut down. He blanked his mind, letting Javelin return to the past, where it belonged. He had to focus on what was relevant now. The E.I.A was in business for another day and he was going to head back to the jet for a shower, a change of clothes and to get back on with his job.

 

He stumbled as his vision wavered with the unnamed drug Dr Li had repeatedly injected him with. His heart was still pumping, so the overdose couldn't be too severe, he'd built up a tolerance to most of the known compounds over the years. Li's new drug must have been based on existing work, or his heart would have probably given out, if not when the guards tried the cruder methods, then during his pursuit of Brown Fox. Nonetheless, it was unimportant in the face of the ongoing demands of his work.

  
As Murdock turned to glance at him Stockwell covered his momentary physical weakness by focussing on holstering his handgun and straightening his tie. The pilot had been a company man, but lacked the ruthless edge and emotional discipline to excel, his mental health wouldn't have been a barrier to a successful career if only he'd had the appropriate mental discipline. A creative mind like his and constant ability to dissemble coherently while multitasking would have been useful, if only....

  
Stockwell quashed that line of thought, the self-indulgence of such speculation was unproductive when he had so much else to do. He dialled Carla to arrange transport, assuming she hadn't dismantled that detail already.

  
Murdock caught the way Stockwell weaved as he walked, just for a few seconds, before pausing to put his gun away. He'd been tortured before, a couple times in the Army, once on a CIA mission and at the Hanoi Hilton - the goons they went up against every week who slapped him and Facey about didn't count. Each time he'd been medevac'ed to a hospital, had taken days, weeks, even months to recover completely, if you could call his current state recovered. Stockwell had only been under interrogation some forty hours, but Murdock knew that was plenty long enough, especially with drugs.

  
It made him think that maybe Stockwell had stopped being able to understand how ordinary people worked, what their needs were or how easy they broke. He was cold and ruthless, manipulative and determined, but today had proven to Murdock that he held himself to the same standards he expected from the A-Team, stalling the master psychologist and killing his old partner without even flinching at what had to be done.

  
The cold sonnuvabitch wasn't playing them. Or at least they weren't up there on his list. Murdock suddenly wondered if that more than anything else was what made Hannibal dislike the man. Sure, they all distrusted and disliked the spooks, but it was stronger than just disapproval for company people and their high-handed nonsense. Stockwell didn't care about himself - today had made that clear - and he cared about them and their reputation even less.

  
The thing about Hannibal was that he was the best at what he did and he knew it. The guy had taken his name from a historical figure so much larger than life he was practically legendary for crying out loud! He thrived on the thrill of a challenge, took every chance he could to show how much better they as as team were than any other and lived for that moment when they turned expectations upside down. They had become legends, mystique had become one of their weapons against soulless automatons like Decker and the dehumanisation of their trials.

  
Being the best was what got Hannibal out of bed in the morning - without the jazz he was nothing, and Stockwell didn't give a tuppenny fart for their mystique or the jazz, just used them like disposable assets and didn't even have the grace to be surprised when they came back alive. Rebelling against Stockwell or proving him wrong was as pointless as yelling at the ocean and for guys like Hannibal and Face, life without rules to break and expectations to overturn was a life hardly worth living.

  
Stockwell seemed like a guy with nothing left but the job, a guy who'd willingly, deliberately removed every external interest or relationship that might hinder his performance on the job. He didn't read like someone who'd lost everything, but someone who'd taken a good, hard look at what needed doing and had moulded himself into what it took to get that job done, regardless of the cost.

  
It didn't make the guy seem cuddly or likable. Murdock still loathed the cold hearted son of a gun holding him and his friends hostage with no sign of release, but you had to respect that kind of indomitable spirit, even as it made Murdock wonder if he'd ever let them go free.


End file.
